Urohringr

by Imploding Colon


Welcome to the Club, Pal

Rainbow Dash slid the Sword of Solstice all the way inside her saddlebag, then proceeded to tighten the satchel shut with a jerk of her teeth to the outer flap. Releasing her grip, she exhaled calmly, turned around, and stared over the misty treetops stretching west from the platform along Central D.

An orange sun was setting along the horizon, casting jagged shadows across the basin as it lowered beyond the reach of the western Sky Stabs.

Rainbow took a deep breath, her eyes falling towards the foliage below. The treehouses lingered in sleepy silence. Lights flickered on one by one as the various Durandanans settled in for the night. The serenity of the moment stole something out of Rainbow's inner being, and she trembled ever so slightly as she gazed on.

A slight jolt ran through her body at the sound of Fawful shuffling up from behind.

"I thought you had flown off already," the Gray Feather said. She trotted up and stood alongside Rainbow. "You look troubled. Is there something you're looking for out there?"

Rainbow's nostrils flared. "Yeah," she muttered. "Flame, smoke, and looting."

Fawful raised an eyebrow. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

With a groan, Rainbow muttered, "You can't pretend to tell me that everything's hunky-dorey." She gulped. "There were tons less ponies hanging out around the end of the conversation as there were in the beginning."

"It was hardly a complete disaster, Rainbow."

"Fawful, a lot of Durandanans are clearly unhappy with the stuff that Celestia and Luna had to say!"

Fawful gulped and said, "And I honestly can't blame them. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't shooken up myself."

Rainbow squinted at her. "Then why did you stick around for the whole thing?"

"The same reason that you did."

"Huh?"

Fawful smiled contentedly. "I may not fully grasp all of the things that your Princesses said. In fact, from what I can tell, they're not entirely sure of all the things they're saying themselves."

Rainbow winced and said, "But we're on the ball with most of it."

"I can tell that," Fawful said with a nod. "And, what's more, I find your sincerity palpable. What you've chosen to do today was very, very brave, Rainbow Dash. Furthermore, I'm touched that you would express such concern for the welfare of all Durandanans."

"Yeah... but... more to the point..." Rainbow clenched and unclenched her jaw. "...do you guys believe any of it?"

Slowly, Fawful's smile faded. She trotted towards the edge of the platform.

Rainbow gazed at her in silence.

At last, Fawful said, "It has always been the job of the elders to protect the scrolls. But, our task goes even beyond that. Every so often, there's an issue that arises concerning the interpretation of the words of Duranda. Usually, wise counsel falls within picking one of two or three different stances on the scripture in question. Once the Gray Feathers have deliberated, they announce their decision to the Three Towers, and the flock of Durandana agree whole-heartedly to follow the interpretation without question. We've no other choice. The decision of the Gray Feathers is absolute. It has to be, or else the strength of the Valkyrie's legacy threatens to dissolve within our hearts."

Fidgeting where she stood, Rainbow said, "Do you... uhm... h-have any idea what sort a decision the majority of elders are gonna make about what happened today?"

Fawful tensed slightly. Her eyes moistened while remaining locked upon the red horizon. "All I know is... f-for the first time in my entire life... I can feel that my heart may—in fact—not agree with the decision that the Gray Feathers ultimately make."

Rainbow bit her teeth as her ears folded.

Fawful noticed it. She turned towards Rainbow Dash and sniffled, forcing a smile. "If you hadn't stumbled our way to give us the knowledge that you most recently have, Rainbow, then I'm certain somepony eventually would, be it in this age or the next. The basin of Durandana couldn't remain a lonely nest forever..."

Rainbow grimaced as she said, "So much about me and destiny, huh?"

Fawful had no immediate response. She faltered slightly. After a timid shiver, she quietly said, "Go and be with your friends, Rainbow Dash. It's been a long day, and you've earned a respite." She gulped and turned about, trotting away. "We all deserve to be at peace with the world..."

Rainbow watched her trot along. After a few moments, she spread her wings and flew west, coasting along the currents of her own sighs.


As Rainbow lifted herself over another row of tall trees, she spotted the stalk of West D stretching against the darkening horizon. Before her eyes, the giant wooden tower retracted, slowly lowering towards the earth while clattering echoes of wooden gears sounded across the basin.

With the last beams of Final Light diminished, the landscape was engulfed in a dark shadow, and even the distant twinkle of treehouses resembled dying stars amidst the perpetual haze.

The momentary desolation was strangely calming. Rainbow exhaled softly—only to realize that she couldn't use her lungs.

The pegasus' eyes bulged. The world spun, thrown aloft by an impermeable wave of dizziness. A frail squeak escaped her lips, and her hooves thrashed at the world as it spun and spun harder around her.

"Gnnngh... C-Celestia!" she wheezed into the cyclonic blur. The trees were flying towards her at dozens of feet per second. This time, there was nothing to broadcast a command from her head to her feathers. She hissed, feeling the taste of bile rising up in her throat. Soon, the frantic world darkened—turning cold and numb. She gave into the deathly kiss of gravity, closing her eyes, rolling over as if to sleep.

And just like that, the spinning stop. She heard flapping wings pierce the air, and she felt the blood shifting in her body until she was plummeting no more.

"Nnnngh... g-guh..." It took some violent effort, but she was finally able to wrench one of her eyes open. The dizziness was still there, but she could see the treetops slowly lowering around her. She was coasting towards the forest floor, draped in a body's firm grip. "Mmmff... A... Axan...?"

There was no response. Rainbow felt herself being gently rolled to a stop in the soft grass. As her body slumped still, she caught a pony's bandaged leg in the starlight.

The mare sputtered. "J-Jerrio...?"

The glint of his green eyes was unmistakable. His serious face tilted down towards her. Jerrio bent low, feeling her muzzle and neck with his hooves. In a neutral tone, he murmured, "Breathe evenly. Try to relax."

She struggled with that.

"I said breathe," he hissed. "You're like a sparrow taking her first plunge from the tree branches."

Rainbow twitched less and less. Her eyes settled on the sway of leaves overhead. At last, the shivers dissipated, and she once again felt her forelimbs through the fog of the moment. "Nnnngh... whew..." She sighed heavily. "Jerrio... Jerrio, thank you. I... I c-couldn't stop what was happening. If you hadn't flown by, I would have been a goner for sure." Silence. Rainbow blinked. "Jerrio?"

He was nowhere to be seen. As a matter of fact, he was nowhere to be heard.

Rainbow blinked nervously. As her senses continued to coalesce, she felt remarkably lighter. She rolled to her side, gasping—for Luna's saddlebag was no longer clinging to her flanks. "The Sword! Where—?"

A length of metal glinted in the starlight.

Rainbow's blood ran cold. She glanced up weakly. Gulping, she muttered, "Jerrio... wh-what are you doing?"

From where she lay, she could see the stallion standing at an angle. The length of the Sword lay in his grasp, and he stared at it intently with thin eyes. "What gives you the right to control the Lights From Above?" he murmured in a dry voice.

Rainbow swallowed hard and said, "Celestia can't talk to you right now, Jerrio. It's nighttime."

"I wasn't asking her." A piercing green gaze pivoted and fell on Rainbow. With a furrowed brow, the stallion gripped the sword tighter and said, "This is just an object. I could carry this to the highest mists over Durandana and drop it to its doom. I could hide it where nopony would ever see it. I could even smash it to bits against the rocks that surround my home."

"Jerrio..." Rainbow's teeth showed. "Listen to me! Whatever you're th-thinking..." She shivered and sputtered, "Don't go through with it! If you think that you can just—" Her words trailed off as her eyes twitched.

Jerrio was gently laying the sword down in the grass before Rainbow Dash. "But it wouldn't do any good, would it?" the stallion murmured in a melancholic tone. "The damage is done. The scrolls have been maligned. And even if I actually did do away with the sword, the outside world would still come crashing in on us, one way or another." A deep breath. "Carried in on strange... frightening winds..."

Rainbow shuddered. "For a m-moment there, I thought you were g-gonna do something stupid."

"Hrmmm..." He sighed out his nostrils, gazing at his bandaged forelimb. "I already did."

"Hey..." Rainbow smiled awkwardly. "We all do crazy th—"

"But I do not apologize for it!" he leaned forward and spat, teeth showing. "Do you have any idea what this means?! Do you have any idea what you have done to me and every pony I hold dear?!"

Rainbow stared at him. Her muzzle quivered. "I-I'm starting to," she murmured.

Jerrio fumed, fumed, then ultimately leaned back with a sigh. "All my life, I've abided by the word of the Gray Feathers. And here you come with a... sword of sorcery, claiming that there's some word that exists higher than the elders!"

"Now nopony ever said that Celestia and Luna have greater authority than—"

"Do not lie!" Jerrio snarled. "It does not suit you!" A heavy breath. "Nor does fear..."

Rainbow blinked, then frowned. "Fine. Fine. You want the truth? Gnnngh..." With struggling muscles, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Friggin' get over yourself! So what if I rained on your damn parade?! There's a huge world out there, Jerrio... a world that's huge and scary and violent—I know. But get used to it! That's what I had to do! I thought I could take on the world beyond Equestria all lickety-split with nothing to care for but myself, but I realized it was all way... way bigger than me! And the only thing that keeps me going is the hope that Harmony will win out for all of the ponies whose lives I've struggled to help! And the same goes for you! Even if you are being a stupid little jerk about it!"

"How does any of this help me? Help us?!" Jerrio snarled. "I spent the entire afternoon arguing with my brothers and sisters! Every breath was full of heat and eggshells! Some are talking about exploring the world beyond the green! Others are thinking that a terrible sickness has befallen the Gray Feathers! And all of this because of you!"

"Look, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news!" Rainbow grunted. "But some day or another you dudes are going to have to own up to the fact that you're not alone in this world! I know it's simple and easy to just dwell on the Gold Lights and the Valkyrie and nothing else, but you just can't stop reality!"

Jerrio took several fuming breaths. "Do you th-think that it is easy?" He gulped. "To g-give up flight, to give up love, to g-give up freedom and the color of one's m-mane... just to b-become a Gray Feather himself?" His face paled slightly in the starlight, and his breath became ragged. "To commit one's entire life to the scrolls... to forsake all levity and joy for the pursuit of the same scripture that h-has defined you from foaling 'til death?"

Rainbow gazed at him softly. She blinked and said, "Seems like somepony's been struggling with the truth before I even came here..."

Jerrio's eyes glistened. He sat back and shiver slightly. At last, he said, "I've struggled with my own selfish emotions for a long... long time. I did not ask to be First-Born, but I dared not question it. My only solace was that a life of commitment to the scrolls would provide me the answers I've sweated over for so long. I would have solace... b-but now?" He winced. "I... I no longer have a center. What kind of a world is this where the Lights shine on strangers and siblings alike? And even the creatures who empower those Lights are fallible themselves?" He sniffled and ran a hoof through his mane. "It's just... too ugly... too frightening to comprehend. I... I-I do not know how to even trust myself in this world you've painted for all of us..."

Rainbow nodded slowly. "Welcome to the club, pal," she said in a soft tone. "It ain't all that fun at first. But believe me..." She smiled. "It isn't all ugly."

Jerrio narrowed his gaze on her. "How do you cope? How do you spend the rest of your days knowing that the enormity of everything dwarves you?"

"Easy," Rainbow said. "By being better than everything."

"But that's impossible."

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna give it all I'm worth," she said, wheezing slightly at an aftershock of dizziness. "Nnnngh... used to be that all I hated in life was losing. But now?" She gulped. "The one thing that freaks me out is being a bad example, despite everything I've ever done. I'd hate to fail Harmony now..."

Jerrio trotted over. He used his hoof to coil Rainbow's wings at her side. "...this illness... this sickness that you have...?"

"What about it?"

"It is killing you, isn't it?"

Rainbow bit her lip, and ultimately nodded.

Jerrio's brow furrowed. "Then just what does a pony like you have to gain from all of this?"

At last, Rainbow wheezed, "I-I just want us all to get together as one flock."

Jerrio squinted at her. "And you think the Gray Feathers will actually allow this?"

She gazed straight back. "You think it's gonna matter?"

He had no response.

Rainbow took several deep breaths. On wobbly legs, she stood up, exhaling in relief. "I... I-I think I'm good to go..." She slid the sword back into her saddlebag and limply slipped it on. "Mrmmmf... just... j-just gotta get back to the Noble Jury. Thanks, Jerrio... I-I think I can fly back now."

"No." The stallion shook his head before trotting over to help even her balance. He spread his wings over the both of them. "Not on your own, you can't..."